Justice Is Served

How the French duo managed to go from overplayed trend to the best pairing since peanut butter and jam (or hipsters and pit sweat).

By Nick Haramis

Click here for more amazing photos of Justice and PYT's at CMJ!


Music gods, above.

It's never been hotter, and we're being roughed up by strangers soaked in their own sweat and beer volleys. My face is in the armpit of a burly, excited fan jumping up and down. Normally, this would be hell. Hipster hell. Tonight, though, given the collective surge of energy running through the crowd, the ectasy emanating from the sound system at Terminal 5, the pumping fists and neon cross, this is the closest CMJ got to heaven.

Photography by Alexander Wagner.

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Together, Ed Bangers Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay captivated the crowd with obvious crowd pleasers like ”D.A.N.C.E.” and the Simian mash-up ”We Are Your Friends,” but suprisingly, the success of the show had less to do with singalong singles and more to do with the crowd. (Remember, this is a demographic steeped in irony and dripping with apathy.)

For just over an hour, though, in a room palpitating with what can only be described as religious fervor, we shook everything we had alongside 3,000 screaming fans. After the first encore, when Justice retreated backstage, the masses starting chanting the words to “We Are Your Friends,” determined to wring another song out of the experience.

Unfortunately, the boys were done. The house lights came on and everyone poured into the streets, still chanting. We waved goodbye, sated and dripping with sweat, ready for round two.

Justice played the official after-party at Studio B in Williamsburg. Despite the familiar faces and familiar set, the performance was equally cathartic. We left feeling sated, purged, and lighter—and wet.

Download Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.” here!